1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a suspension member for a frame of a vehicle and more specifically concerns a suspension member that includes a coil spring and a shock absorber as a unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is generally known to use coil-type suspension springs and shock absorbers for providing suspension of a vehicle frame. In standard configurations, the suspension spring and shock absorber are spaced apart from one another and height adjustment or removal thereof must be done on an individual basis or with a shock mounted inside the spring and adjustment is provided for the spring only.
It is also known to include means that coact with the suspension spring to permit adjustment thereof as needed. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,039,788 to Farago, a coil spring is disclosed as being mounted in connection with a thrust rod element that extends upwardly through the coil spring and secures the spring to an upper control arm. The thrust rod element is designed to be adjustable to vary the compression of the coil spring as is done in the present invention. However, Farago does not include a unitary structure composed of a coil spring and a shock absorber. U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,482 issued to Norris also discloses an adjustable coil spring structure. Again this structure differs from the present invention as it does not include a unitary shock absorber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,058 issued to Daraz discloses a vari-torque bar shock absorber that is comprised of a structure having a number of coil springs. However, the coil springs are designed as part of the shock absorber in a complex fashion that is far different from the simplistic construction of the present invention.